Search Engine

ABSTRACT

A search engine to index web content with user content. A server computer receives, from a first client computer operated by a first user, an identification of first web content displayed by a web browser of the first client computer in a main browser window. The identification of the first web content is transmitted by the first user to the server computer via a user interface separate from the main browser window. The server computer then indexes the first web content. In response to receiving a search query from a web browser of a second client computer operated by a second user, the server computer transmits search results to the web browser of the second client computer. The search results include the first web content identified by the first user in a position relative to identifications of other web content received from other users.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/142,479, filed on Apr. 29, 2016 and entitled “Search Engine”, whichis a continuation of, and claims priority to, U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/420,503, filed on Mar. 14, 2012 and entitled “SearchEngine”, which issued on May 10, 2016 as U.S. Pat. No. 9,338,215, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/452,595,filed Mar. 14, 2011, the entire disclosure of which applications areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to web content, and more specifically toa search engine.

BACKGROUND

Web content accessible via the Internet includes web pages, videos,photographs, blogs, news, media, songs, etc. Searching the web for webcontent is performed by search engines. Search engines, such as GOOGLE®and BING®, typically use bots or web crawlers to follow links in webpages to discover content, index the content, and then sort the indexedcontent through an algorithm.

SUMMARY

The process employed by typical search engines to generate searchresults may not accurately reflect the interest of users on the web. Aconventional search engine follows links in web pages to locate webcontent, indexes the content, and then sorts the indexed content througha complex algorithm which may indirectly take into account the interestof the web users.

In one aspect, a server computer receives, from a first client computeroperated by a first user, an identification of first web contentdisplayed by a web browser of the first client computer in a mainbrowser window. The identification of the first web content istransmitted by the first user to the server computer via a userinterface separate from the main browser window. The server computerthen indexes the first web content. In response to receiving a searchquery from a web browser of a second client computer operated by asecond user, the server computer transmits search results to the webbrowser of the second client computer. The search results include thefirst web content identified by the first user in a position relative toidentifications of other web content received from other users.

In one embodiment, the receiving of the identification of first webcontent includes receiving, by the server computer, a rating (e.g., ascore or an indication of like, dislike, or neutral) associated with thefirst web content from the first user. In one embodiment, the receivingof the identification of first web content further includes receivingratings associated with the other web content from the other users. Inone embodiment, the server computer ranks the first web content from therating in relation to the ratings of the other web content received fromthe other users. In one embodiment, the indexing of the first webcontent includes receiving keywords for the first web content. In oneembodiment, the receiving of the identification of the first web contentfurther includes receiving, by the server computer from the first clientcomputer, a comment on the first web content. The first web content canbe the same as or different than the other web content.

These and other aspects and embodiments will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawing figures, which are not to scale, and where like referencenumerals indicate like elements throughout the several views:

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a client computer communicating with aserver computer over a network in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 1B is a flowchart illustrating operations performed by the servercomputer and the client computer to enable a user of the client computerto operate on web content displayed by the client computer in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of a first client computer and a secondclient computer communicating with the server computer in accordancewith an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2B is a flowchart illustrating operations performed by the servercomputer to enable a human powered search in accordance with anembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A-3F are exemplary screen shots of a user interface and a plug-inmodule when a web page is added to the server computer via the plug-inmodule in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-4F are exemplary screen shots of the user interface and theplug-in module when a web site is added to the server computer via theplug-in module in accordance with an embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal architecture of acomputer in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Embodiments are now discussed in more detail referring to the drawingsthat accompany the present application. In the accompanying drawings,like and/or corresponding elements are referred to by like referencenumbers.

Various embodiments are disclosed herein; however, it is to beunderstood that the disclosed embodiments are merely illustrative of thedisclosure that can be embodied in various forms. In addition, each ofthe examples given in connection with the various embodiments isintended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Further, the figuresare not necessarily to scale, some features may be exaggerated to showdetails of particular components (and any size, material and similardetails shown in the figures are intended to be illustrative and notrestrictive). Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the disclosed embodiments.

The present disclosure is described below with reference to blockdiagrams and operational illustrations of methods and devices to selectand present media related to a specific topic. It is understood thateach block of the block diagrams or operational illustrations, andcombinations of blocks in the block diagrams or operationalillustrations, can be implemented by means of analog or digital hardwareand computer program instructions. These computer program instructionscan be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, specialpurpose computer, ASIC, or other programmable data processing apparatus,such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of thecomputer or other programmable data processing apparatus, implements thefunctions/acts specified in the block diagrams or operational block orblocks.

In some alternate implementations, the functions/acts noted in theblocks can occur out of the order noted in the operationalillustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession can in factbe executed substantially concurrently or the blocks can sometimes beexecuted in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/actsinvolved. Furthermore, the embodiments of methods presented anddescribed as flowcharts in this disclosure are provided by way ofexample in order to provide a more complete understanding of thetechnology. The disclosed methods are not limited to the operations andlogical flow presented herein. Alternative embodiments are contemplatedin which the order of the various operations is altered and in whichsub-operations described as being part of a larger operation areperformed independently.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in anotherembodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a differentembodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matterinclude combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage incontext. Fore example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as usedherein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least inpart upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” ifused to associate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B,and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B, or C, hereused in the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as usedherein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describeany feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may beused to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristicsin a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” again,may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a pluralusage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term“based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey anexclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence ofadditional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, dependingat least in part on context.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a client computer 105communicating with a server computer 110 over a network 115 such as theInternet. A user uses a web browser 120 on the client computer 105 toaccess the Internet. In one embodiment, a web page is transmitted viathe network 115 to the client computer 105 for display by the webbrowser 120 in a main browser window 130. The web browser 120 displaysweb content 135 in the main window 130 of the web browser 120. The webcontent 135 is generally received from a third party server differentfrom the server computer 110 without going through the server computer110. The third party server is generally independent from the servercomputer 110; and the presentation of the web content from the thirdparty server to the web browser 120 is made without a reference to theserver computer 110. However, the techniques described herein also applyto the scenario in which the web content 135 is from the server computer110.

In one embodiment, the client computer 105 submits a request to theserver computer 110 (e.g., via the web content 135) for a plug-in module140. The plug-in module 140 may be associated with the web content 135,may be associated with another web page, and/or may be associated with adisplayed advertisement. The server computer 110 transmits the plug-inmodule 140 to the browser 120 (to install the plug-in module 140 on thebrowser 120). In one embodiment, the plug-in module 140 is installed onthe browser to present a user interface element such as a button on atoolbar of the web browser 120 (e.g., the browser toolbar or a thirdparty toolbar) or a menu item in the browser 120, etc.

The user of the client computer 105 can activate the plug-in module 140by, for example, selecting the button for the plug-in module 140 (e.g.,via a mouse cursor, touching the button, speaking a command, etc.). Inone embodiment, upon activation, the plug-in module 140 causes the webbrowser 120 to display a user interface 150 separate from the mainbrowser window 130 (e.g., a pop-up window). In one embodiment, the userinterface 150 displays at least a portion of the web content 155 to theuser and enables the user to operate on the displayed web content 155(and, e.g., generate user content associated with the web content 135,such as a rating, comment, etc. as described below). In one embodiment,the user interface 150 includes one or more buttons 160 to enable theuser to operate on the portion of the web content 155. In oneembodiment, the plug-in module 140 transmits user content 165 to theserver computer 110 (e.g., for indexing).

For purposes of this disclosure, a computer such as the client computer105 includes a processor and memory for storing and executing programcode, data and software. Computers can be provided with operatingsystems that allow the execution of software applications in order tomanipulate data. Client computer 105 can be any device that can displaya website and that can be used by a user. Personal computers, servers,personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless devices, smartphones,cellular telephones, tablet computers, internet appliances, mediaplayers, home theater systems, and media centers are severalnon-limiting examples of computers.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “server” should beunderstood to refer to a service point which provides processing,database, and communication facilities. By way of example, and notlimitation, the term “server” can refer to a single, physical processorwith associated communications and data storage and database facilities,or it can refer to a networked or clustered complex of processors andassociated network and storage devices, as well as operating softwareand one or more database systems and applications software which supportthe services provided by the server. A number of program modules anddata files can be stored on a computer readable medium of the server.They can include an operating system suitable for controlling theoperation of a networked server computer, such as the WINDOWS 7, WINDOWSVISTA, or WINDOWS XP operating system published by Microsoft Corporationof Redmond, Wash., or the Ubuntu operating system distributed byCanonical Ltd. of Douglas, Isle of Man.

In one embodiment, the server computer 110 is a group of servers, suchas one server to receive the submitted user content transmitted from theplug-in module 140 and a second server configured to download/installthe plug-in module 140 into the user's web browser 120. In anotherembodiment, server computer 110 performs both of these functions. In oneembodiment, a third server may be present in FIG. 1A representing athird party web server on the Internet (e.g., an online newspaper site,a blog, etc.) that is separate and distinct from server computer 110.

FIG. 1B is a flowchart illustrating an embodiment of operationsperformed by the server computer 110 and the client computer 105 toenable a user of the client computer 105 to operate on web contentdisplayed by the browser 120. The user uses the web browser 120 to viewand/or listen to web content 135, such as a web page, an audio file, avideo, a post, a media file, etc., in main browser window 130 (Operation170). In one embodiment, the plug-in module 140 is installed prior toand independent from the web content 135; the installation of theplug-in module 140 and its operation requires no prior arrangement madein the web content 135; and thus, the plug-in module 140 can work withany web content 135 found in the web. Alternatively, the web content 135(e.g., a web page associated with the server computer 110) enables theuser to install plug-in module 140. In another embodiment, the webcontent 135 (e.g., a web page) is a third party web page that includesan advertisement to install the plug-in module 140.

The server computer 110 transmits the plug-in module 140 to the webbrowser 120 of the client computer 105 (Operation 175) and the clientcomputer 105 receives the plug-in module 140 (Operation 180). In oneembodiment, the plug-in module 140 allows the user to remotely log intothe server computer 110. Upon activation of the plug-in module 140(Operation 185), the plug-in module 140 causes the web browser 120 todisplay user interface 150 separate from the main window 130. In oneembodiment, the user interface 150 displays at least a portion of theweb content 155 that the web browser 120 is displaying in its mainwindow 130 (Operation 190). For example, the user interface 150 candisplay representative information of the web content 135, such as apicture, an icon, a sentence, and/or a paragraph in the portion of theweb content 155. In one embodiment, the user interface 150 displaysnotifications, comments, or reviews from other users who have downloadedthe plug-in module 140.

In one embodiment, the user interface 150 automatically selects fordisplay the portion of the web content 155 from the received web content135. Further, in one embodiment the user of the client computer 105 canprovide settings as to what the user interface 150 will display when webcontent 135 is displayed in the web browser 120 (e.g., display the firstfew sentences of the web content 135, display the first graphic andfirst few sentences of web content 135, display the entire web content135 (e.g., a web page), etc.)

The plug-in module 140 enables the user to operate on the web content155. For example, the user can submit a rating for the web content 155or a comment on the web content 155 (Operation 195) (e.g., user content165). In one embodiment, the user interface 150 enables the user to postthe portion of the web content 155 to a social networking site (e.g.,FACEBOOK®). In one embodiment, the user interface 150 displays currentdiscussions related to the web content 155 and enables the user to addthe web content 135 to a search engine associated with the servercomputer 110. In one embodiment, the user can use the user interface 150to adjust (e.g., add web content to or remove web content from) theportion of the web content 155 displayed by the user interface 150. Forexample, the plug-in module 140 can transmit the URL of the web content135 to the server computer 110. The server computer 110 can update whatis displayed by or the amount of web content 155 displayed by the userinterface 150. In one embodiment, the plug-in module 140 prompts theuser to add the web content 135 (e.g., a web page) to the servercomputer's index so that the web content 135 (e.g., a web page) will bepresent in future search results. The plug-in module 140 may transmitthe URL of the web content 135 (e.g., a web page) to the server computer110 (which can then extract the web content 135), may transmit theentire web content 135 (e.g., a web page) to the server computer 110, ormay transmit a portion of the web content 135 (e.g., a web page) to theserver computer 110. In one embodiment, the server computer 110 (or theplug-in module 140) grabs the web page's meta-tags, thumbnail, title,and/or text of the web content 135 (e.g., a web page). In oneembodiment, the plug-in module 140 allows the user to add web content135 (e.g., a web page) to the server computer 110, such as via the userinterface 150, a pop-up window, a menu option, right-clicking thewebpage itself, via the browser 120, etc. In one embodiment, the plug-inmodule 140 enables the user to change the web content's tags in case themeta-tags are inaccurate.

Thus, the user interface 150 enables the user to provideinformation/content about a third party web content 135 (e.g., a webpage) to a web page associated with the plug-in module 140 (and servercomputer 110) while the third party web content 135 (e.g., a web page)is displayed in web browser 120. This information/user content 165 caninclude one or more comments, tips, a rating for the web content 155(e.g., a score for the web content 155), an indication that the userlikes or dislikes the web content 155, a recommendation for or on theweb content 155, and/or a tag for the web content 155. Further, the userinterface 150 can enable the user to attach content to the web content155, share the web content 155 with others, etc.

The plug-in module 140 allows the user to act on any web page that iscurrently being viewed by the user and, in one embodiment, transmits theuser-created content (e.g., comments and ratings) in association with anidentification of the web content to the server computer 110. After theplug-in module 140 is installed on the web browser 120 (e.g., via aninstallation web page that directs the user to download the plug-inmodule 140 for installation), the user can visit any third party website and click a button associated with the plug-in module 140 to createuser content in association with the third party web site and submit theuser content to the server computer 110. The user does not have to visitthe web site through the plug-in module 140 or user interface 150 butrather can navigate to the web site using the user's web browser 120. Inone embodiment, the plug-in module 140 can be implemented as a built-inmodule of the web browser 120 (e.g., shipped by Microsoft Corporation asa built-in component of INTERNET EXPLORER®).

Thus, when a user is looking at a web page (e.g., a news article or ablog entry), and if the user is interested in acting upon it (e.g., toshare it, to submit it to the server computer 110 for indexing, or torank or comment on it), the user can click on the plug-in module buttonand then work on the user interface 150 that, in one embodiment,populates some of the fields automatically by automatically taking thosecontents (e.g., snippets) from the web content 135 (e.g., a web page)that the user is currently looking at (e.g., thumbnail image, the leadsentence, etc.). There is no need for any prior arrangement between theweb page being acted upon and the plug-in module 140/server computer110.

For example, a blog-related service may use such a plug-in module 140 toassist the blog author that blogs on news articles. When looking at thenews article, the user clicks the plug-in button and the user interface150 shows the blog template that has many fields pre-populated withcontent from the news article (e.g., a thumbnail icon image, a leadsentence, etc.). Thus, the user does not have to perform the copy andpaste manually. The user can work on the user interface 150 to composethe remaining part of the blog entry about the news article, such asrating, comments, etc.

In one embodiment, the user interface 150 displays advertisements to theuser, such as for one or more products. In one embodiment, theadvertisements are transmitted to the browser 120 by the server computer110. Alternatively, a third party advertisement server can transmitadvertisements to the user interface 150 for display. In one embodiment,the advertisements may be related to the portion of the web content 155displayed by the user interface 150. The user interface 150 can alsodisplay statistics. For example, the user interface 150 can displaystatistics associated with the portion of the web content 155,statistics associated with the user (e.g., number of days since the userhas downloaded the plug-in module 140, amount of web content that theuser has commented on, amount of web content that the user has shared,amount of web content that the user has rated or ranked, number ofand/or which other users the user has followed, number of and/or whichother users have followed the user, etc.), statistics about the userinterface 150, statistics about the plug-in module 140, statistics aboutother users associated with the plug-in module 140 (e.g., the number ofusers who have downloaded the plug-in module 140 and/or the number ofusers who have downloaded the plug-in module 140 and who have currentlyactivated the plug-in module 140 to view a corresponding userinterface), and/or statistics about any other information.

In one embodiment, the user interface 150 displays advertisements thatare posted by other users who have downloaded the plug-in module 140.The advertisements can be, for example, an advertisement for a roommate,an advertisement to sell or buy a product, a classified jobs section, adating section, etc. Thus, in one embodiment, a product manager atcompany XYZ can post a job position that is available at XYZ to theusers of the plug-in module 140. As another example, suppose one user isusing his web browser 120 to search for a new television set. In oneembodiment, the plug-in module 140 can detect the user's searching andpost an advertisement for a TV that another user in the community (e.g.,another user who has downloaded the plug-in module 140) is selling.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram of an embodiment of a first client computer205 and a second client computer 210 communicating with the servercomputer 110 over network 115. FIG. 2B is a flowchart of an embodimentof operations performed by the server computer 110. As described above,in one embodiment the plug-in module is transmitted to web browser 220of the first client computer 205 and web browser 230 of the secondclient computer 210. Each web browser 220, 230 is displaying web content135 as described above. In one embodiment, the user of the first clientcomputer 205 activates the plug-in module, which in turn results in thecorresponding user interface being displayed. As described above, theuser of the first client computer 205 can act upon the web contentdisplayed by the web browser 220 of the first client computer 205.

In one embodiment, the user of the first client computer 205 submits anidentification of web content 235 to the server computer 110. In oneembodiment, the submitting of this identification of web content 235occurs when the user submits (via the user interface 150) a URL of theweb page being displayed in the main window of the web browser 220 tothe server computer 110. In one embodiment, the submitting of thisidentification of web content 235 occurs when the user submits usercontent 165 as described above, such as the user submitting a rating orranking of the web content displayed by the web browser 220 in its mainwindow 130, a user submitting a thumbnail version of a picture from theweb content, a sentence from the web content, and/or a link to the webcontent. The first client computer 205 transmits the identification ofweb content 235 to the server computer 110.

In one embodiment, the server computer 110 receives, from the firstclient computer 205, the identification of web content 235 (Operation255). The server computer 110 indexes the web content (Operation 260)for, for example, inclusion in search results. In one embodiment, theserver computer 110 receives a rating for the web content from the firstclient computer 205 (Operation 265), such as receiving a rating that hasbeen provided by the user in the user interface displayed by the plug-inmodule. The server computer 110 also receives ratings from other usersfor other web content displayed by other user interfaces (Operation270). In one embodiment, if operation 260 has already been completed(i.e., the web content has already been indexed by the server computer110, the first client computer 205 can comment on, provide ratings for,submit, etc. the web content. In one embodiment, the server computer 110then ranks the web content from its rating in relation to the ratings ofthe other web content received from other users (Operation 275). In oneembodiment, the user of the second client computer 210 transmits asearch query 282 to the server computer 110. The server computer 210receives the search query 282 (Operation 280) and transmits searchresults 290 to the second client computer 210. In one embodiment, thesearch results 290 include identification of web content (e.g., a linkto the web content) and associated user content (Operation 285). In oneembodiment, the search results 290 include web content in an orderassociated with the ranking and/or ratings associated with the webcontent received by the server computer 110. Thus, unlike other searchengines, such as GOOGLE® and BING®, which use bots/web crawlers tofollow links in web pages to discover content and then sort the indexedcontent through an algorithm, the ranking of the web content in thesearch results 290 is based on human input (e.g., human ratings, such aslike, dislike, or neutral). Thus, the human input affects the searchresults in real time. In one embodiment, the more people recommend a webpage, the higher it shows up on a related search.

For example, the search results may be a page similar to GOOGLE® searchresult, where a list of results are shown, each having a snippet of therespective web content, the aggregated user rating, links to respectiveweb content and the user comments, etc.

In one embodiment, the human user may specify a few keywords for thecontent identified by the user, and the content is indexed using thehuman identified keywords. Human users may comment on the content, whichaugments the original content. In one embodiment, the user interfaceallows a user to search for web pages and/or user added content viatags. Search results can be presented according to categories of thecontent and/or sorted according to some criteria. In one embodiment, thesearch results 290 are displayed to the user by the plug-in module inthe user interface.

Thus, the search results 290 may change in real time, as they depend offof human input (e.g., rating, recommending, tipping, commenting,sharing, adding user content such as pictures, etc.) and not on links ora web crawler.

For example, in one embodiment the web content 135 comes fromNYTimes.com or CNN.com which has no relation with server computer 110.When a user is browsing a CNN.com page and finds an interesting articleat CNN.com/xyz.html, shown as the web content 135 in the main window 130of the browser 220 in a typical browsing experience, the user may clickthe plug-in icon to call the plug-in module 140 into action. The plug-inmodule 140 gets the address of the web content 135—CNN.com/xyz.html—fromthe browser 220. The plug-in module 140 then gets the article eitherfrom the main browser window 130, or directly from CNN web server, orsends the address back to the server computer 110 to ask the servercomputer 110 to get the article from CNN.com/xyz.html. The address isused to obtain a snippet of the web content 155 (e.g., a thumbnailversion of a picture from the article, a sentence or two from thearticle, a few keywords, etc.). The snippet 155 is populated into theuser interface 150 to help the user create a “blog-entry” likesubmission to the server computer 110 to index the article with usercontent 165 (e.g., user selected keywords, rating, comments). The userdoes not have to do a copy/paste to create the submission. Once thearticle is indexed in the server computer 110, other users can search tofind the article and view the user content 165 and add more user content165 (e.g., their ratings and comments).

In one embodiment, once a web page has been added into the system (e.g.,indexed by the server computer 110), it has no “positive rating” or“negative rating” by default. In this state, it has zero score. In oneembodiment, ratings increase the score of a webpage. For example, apositive rating increases the score of a webpage by 1; and a negativerating increases the score of a webpage by 0.2. Other scores can also beused to differentiate the positive rating and negative rating. In oneembodiment, items with more score are ranked higher up on the searchresults 290. These scores can be adjusted to improve search accuracy. Inone embodiment, if two web pages have an equal score, the servercomputer 110 decides which web page shows up higher based on a number offactors, such as tags, keywords, word combinations, frequency, etc. Inone embodiment, by letting users control what articles they like, theserver computer 110 delivers a more social search experience as well ascut down on spam.

For each web item (web content) (e.g., a web site, a video, a web page)hosted on the web/internet (typically not on the server computer 110),the server computer 110 allows its users to create user content 165,which typically includes a snippet or portion of the web content 155(such as one or sentences from the web content 135, one or morethumbnail images of the web content 135, etc.). The snippet 155 is notgenerated until a user submits it to the server via the plug-in module140. The user content 165 may further include a set of tags/keywords.The plug-in module 140 and/or the server 110 may automatically selectthe snippet and the tags/keywords 155 for the user, by processing theweb content 135 in an automated way. The snippet and/or thetags/keywords 155 suggested by the plug-in module 140 and/or the servercomputer 110 may be modified by the user via the user interface 150 ofthe plug-in module 140. The snippet 155 is stored on the server computer110 (as part of the user content 165 associated with the web content135); and in one embodiment the user content 165 has a link to the webcontent 135, which allows the users of the server computer 110 to followthe link to see the actual/current version of the web content 135 thatis on the web (typically not on the server computer 110). One or moreusers can add additional contents to the “user content” 165 associatedwith the web content 135, such as a vote/rating, and a comment. Thefirst user submitting the snippet and/or tags/keywords can submit thisinformation with his/her rating/vote and comment.

In one embodiment, if a second user uses the second client computer 210that has the plug-in installed to visit the web content that has anassociated user content (e.g., a snippet, a set of votes by differentusers and comments) in the server computer 110, the browser plug-inmodule shows the availability of the user content (e.g., the numbers ofcomments the server computer 110 stores for the web content displayed inthe main window and the counts of up votes and down votes) and thesecond user can click on the browser plug-in module to activate a userinterface to view the user content and/or provide additional usercontent. The second user may use a search page of the server computerand/or the user interface of the plug-in module to search, based on thetags, to discover the web content and then view the user content usingthe plug-in module.

FIGS. 3A-3F are exemplary screen shots of the user interface and theplug-in module when a web page is added to the server computer 110(e.g., added to be indexed for search results) via the plug-in module.In FIG. 3A, screen shot 305 shows web content 310 being displayed by webbrowser 315. The user has activated the plug-in module via plug-inmodule button 320, which results in user interface 325 being displayed.Screen shot 305 shows the user interface 325 enabling the user to log invia log-in input areas 330, 335. FIG. 3B shows a screen shot 340illustrating the user interface 325 that includes a portion of the webcontent 345 associated with web content 310. The user in screen shot 340can enter in a comment relating to the portion of the web content 345.FIG. 3C shows a screen shot 350 that includes user interface 325 havinga comment 355 from the user about the portion of the web content 345.The user has indicated that he/she “likes” the web content 345. FIG. 3Dis a screen shot 360 of user interface 325 displaying two comments, thelike comment 355 and a dislike comment 365. FIG. 3E shows a screen shot370 with user interface 325 displaying contacts 375 that the user canshare the web content 345 with. FIG. 3F shows a screen shot 380 withuser interface 325 indicating via notification 385 that the user hasshared the web content 345 with two people.

FIGS. 4A-4F are exemplary screen shots of the user interface and theplug-in module when a web site is added to the server computer 110(e.g., added to be indexed for search results) via the plug-in module.In FIG. 4A, screen shot 405 shows web site 410 being displayed by webbrowser 415. The user has activated the plug-in module via plug-inmodule button 420, which results in user interface 425 being displayed.Screen shot 405 shows the user interface 425 enabling the user to log invia log-in input areas 430, 435. FIG. 4B shows a screen shot 440illustrating the user interface 425 that includes a portion of the website content 445 associated with web site 410. The user in screen shot440 can enter in a comment relating to the portion of the web content445. FIG. 4C shows a screen shot 450 that includes user interface 425having a comment 455 from the user about the portion of the web sitecontent 445. The user has indicated that he/she “likes” the web sitecontent 445. FIG. 4D is a screen shot 460 of user interface 425displaying two comments, the like comment 455 and a dislike comment 465.FIG. 4E shows a screen shot 470 with user interface 425 displayingcontacts 475 that the user can share the web site content 445 with. FIG.4F shows a screen shot 480 with user interface 425 indicating vianotification 485 that the user has shared the web site content 445 withtwo people.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an internal architecture of anexample of a computer, such as server computer 110 and/or clientcomputer 105, in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. A computer as referred to herein refers to any device with aprocessor capable of executing logic or coded instructions, and could bea server, personal computer, set top box, smart phone, pad computer ormedia device, to name a few such devices. As shown in the example ofFIG. 5, internal architecture 500 includes one or more processing units(also referred to herein as CPUs) 512, which interface with at least onecomputer bus 502. Also interfacing with computer bus 502 are persistentstorage medium/media 506, network interface 514, memory 504, e.g.,random access memory (RAM), run-time transient memory, read only memory(ROM), etc., media disk drive interface 508 as an interface for a drivethat can read and/or write to media including removable media such asfloppy, CD-ROM, DVD, etc. media, display interface 510 as interface fora monitor or other display device, keyboard interface 516 as interfacefor a keyboard, pointing device interface 518 as an interface for amouse or other pointing device, and miscellaneous other interfaces notshown individually, such as parallel and serial port interfaces, auniversal serial bus (USB) interface, and the like.

Memory 504 interfaces with computer bus 502 so as to provide informationstored in memory 504 to CPU 512 during execution of software programssuch as an operating system, application programs, device drivers, andsoftware modules that comprise program code, and/or computer-executableprocess operations, incorporating functionality described herein, e.g.,one or more of process flows described herein. CPU 512 first loadscomputer-executable process operations from storage, e.g., memory 504,storage medium/media 506, removable media drive, and/or other storagedevice. CPU 512 can then execute the stored process operations in orderto execute the loaded computer-executable process operations. Storeddata, e.g., data stored by a storage device, can be accessed by CPU 512during the execution of computer-executable process operations.

Persistent storage medium/media 506 is a computer readable storagemedium(s) that can be used to store software and data, e.g., anoperating system and one or more application programs. Persistentstorage medium/media 506 can also be used to store device drivers, suchas one or more of a digital camera driver, monitor driver, printerdriver, scanner driver, or other device drivers, web pages, contentfiles, playlists and other files. Persistent storage medium/media 506can further include program modules and data files used to implement oneor more embodiments of the present disclosure.

For the purposes of this disclosure a computer readable medium storescomputer data, which data can include computer program code that isexecutable by a computer, in machine readable form. By way of example,and not limitation, a computer readable medium may comprise computerreadable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data, orcommunication media for transient interpretation of code-containingsignals. Computer readable storage media, as used herein, refers tophysical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includeswithout limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for thetangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data. Computer readablestorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical ormaterial medium which can be used to tangibly store the desiredinformation or data or instructions and which can be accessed by acomputer or processor.

For the purposes of this disclosure a module is a software, hardware, orfirmware (or combinations thereof) system, process or functionality, orcomponent thereof, that performs or facilitates the processes, features,and/or functions described herein (with or without human interaction oraugmentation). A module can include sub-modules. Software components ofa module may be stored on a computer readable medium. Modules may beintegral to one or more servers, or be loaded and executed by one ormore servers. One or more modules may be grouped into an engine or anapplication.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and systems ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in many manners and as suchare not to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments andexamples. In other words, functional elements being performed by singleor multiple components, in various combinations of hardware and softwareor firmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among softwareapplications at either the user device or server or both. In thisregard, any number of the features of the different embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments,and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of thefeatures described herein are possible. Functionality may also be, inwhole or in part, distributed among multiple components, in manners nowknown or to become known. Thus, myriad software/hardware/firmwarecombinations are possible in achieving the functions, features,interfaces and preferences described herein. Moreover, the scope of thepresent disclosure covers conventionally known manners for carrying outthe described features and functions and interfaces, as well as thosevariations and modifications that may be made to the hardware orsoftware or firmware components described herein as would be understoodby those skilled in the art now and hereafter.

While the system and method have been described in terms of one or moreembodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure need not belimited to the disclosed embodiments. It is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements included within the spirit andscope of the claims, the scope of which should be accorded the broadestinterpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and similarstructures. The present disclosure includes any and all embodiments ofthe following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, by a servercomputer from a first client computer operated by a first user, anidentification of first web content displayed by a web browser of thefirst client computer in a main browser window, the identification ofthe first web content transmitted by the first user to the servercomputer via a user interface separate from the main browser window;indexing, by the server computer, the first web content; and in responseto receiving a search query from a web browser of a second clientcomputer operated by a second user, transmitting, by the servercomputer, search results to the web browser of the second clientcomputer, the search results comprising the first web content identifiedby the first user in a position relative to identifications of other webcontent received from other users.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thereceiving of the identification of first web content further comprisesreceiving, by the server computer, a rating associated with the firstweb content from the first user.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein thereceiving of the identification of first web content further comprisesreceiving, by the server computer, ratings associated with the other webcontent from the other users.
 4. The method of claim 3, furthercomprising ranking, by the server computer, the first web content fromthe rating in relation to the ratings of the other web content receivedfrom the other users.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the ratingassociated with the first web content is selected from a group of ratingtypes consisting of like, dislike, and neutral.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the indexing of the first web content further comprisesreceiving, by the server computer, keywords for the first web content.7. The method of claim 1, wherein the receiving of the identification ofthe first web content further comprises receiving, by the servercomputer from the first client computer, a comment on the first webcontent.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first web content is sameas the other web content.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein thereceiving of an identification of first web content further comprisesreceiving a rating on the first web content, wherein the rating is ascore assigned by the user of the first client computer.
 10. A computingdevice comprising: at least one processor; and a storage medium tangiblystoring thereon program logic configured to instruct the at least oneprocessor to at least: receive, from a first client computer operated bya first user, an identification of first web content displayed by a webbrowser of the first client computer in a main browser window, theidentification of the first web content transmitted by the first uservia a user interface separate from the main browser window; index thefirst web content; and in response to receiving a search query from aweb browser of a second client computer operated by a second user,transmit search results to the web browser of the second clientcomputer, the search results comprising the first web content identifiedby the first user in a position relative to identifications of other webcontent received from other users.
 11. The computing device of claim 10,wherein the program logic configured to instruct the at least oneprocessor to receive further comprises program logic to instruct the atleast one processor to receive a rating associated with the first webcontent from the first user.
 12. The computing device of claim 10,wherein the program logic configured to instruct the at least oneprocessor to receive further comprises program logic to instruct the atleast one processor to receive ratings associated with the other webcontent from the other users.
 13. The computing device of claim 12,further comprising program logic configured to instruct the at least oneprocessor to rank the first web content from the rating in relation tothe ratings of the other web content received from the other users. 14.The computing device of claim 11, wherein the rating associated with thefirst web content is selected from a group of rating types consisting oflike, dislike, and neutral.
 15. The computing device of claim 10,wherein program logic configured to instruct the at least one processorto index further comprises program logic configured to instruct the atleast one processor to receive keywords for the first web content. 16.The computing device of claim 10, wherein the program logic configuredto instruct the at least one processor to receive further comprisesprogram logic to instruct the at least one processor to receive, fromthe first client computer, a comment on the first web content.
 17. Thecomputing device of claim 10, wherein the first web content is the sameas the other web content.
 18. The computing device of claim 10, whereinthe program logic configured to instruct the at least one processor toreceive further comprises program logic to instruct the at least oneprocessor to receive a rating on the first web content, wherein therating is a score assigned by the user of the first client computer. 19.A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing computerprogram instructions configured instruct a computer processor to performat least: receiving, by a server computer from a first client computeroperated by a first user, an identification of first web contentdisplayed by a web browser of the first client computer in a mainbrowser window, and a user content created by the first user of the webbrowser; indexing, by the server computer, the first web content basedat least in part on the user content; storing, by the server computer,the user content in association with the identification of the first webcontent; and in response to receiving a search query from a web browserof a second client computer operated by a second user, transmitting, bythe server computer, search results to the web browser of the secondclient computer, the search results comprising the identification of thefirst web content and the user content associated with the first webcontent.
 20. The non-transitory computer readable storage medium ofclaim 19, wherein the user content including a comment on the first webcontent and a rating of the first web content by the first user; andwherein the user content and the identification of the first web contentare composed in a user interface separate from the main browser windowfor transmission to the server computer, while the web content isdisplayed in the main browser window.